


The Tamed Beast

by Kinozaki



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, F/F, Genderbending, Manga & Anime, Romance, Transformation, Transgender, Yuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-03 05:21:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21174101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinozaki/pseuds/Kinozaki
Summary: An endlessly frustrated MMO player explores a cave that they're certain nobody else has found in the hopes of a particularly good reward, only to discover...what seems to be absolutely nothing other than a dragon's egg. Attempting to take it, figuring they might as well get something for their troubles, they're quickly attacked by a baby dragon, changing them in ways they never imagined, and giving them a source of comfort they never knew they wanted.





	The Tamed Beast

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally published on DeviantArt on April 25, 2018.
> 
> In an effort to accurately reflect my growth as a writer, my older stories are going to be uploaded chronologically, until publishing becomes concurrent.
> 
> As such, please bear with me through any roughness, as a lot has happened in that time, and I will be going through that at a very accelerated pace.

Keigo looked up to the display that was constantly floating just on the edge of his vision, focusing on a small number tucked away in the corner. With a blink, the number changed, the clock rolling over to 01:00. Keigo stopped his mindless trudge for a moment, weighing out what to do next. As much of a pain as it usually was, he was thankful that Sword Art: Origin used its own clock and not the time in the real world, though, with all the wandering he’d done, he wouldn’t have been terribly shocked to find out it was one in the morning in the real world, either. At the very least, he’d certainly blown past dinner time, but he couldn’t, for the life of him, remember when he’d first entered the secluded little cave.  
  
He could still hear, ever so faintly, the din of the waterfall outside crashing against the rocks that helped conceal the entrance, but it had been so long since he’d seen them. Was it two hours ago? Three? He’d started to get a chill from the damp air, his skin feeling cold, clammy, and almost slimy. Or, at least, that’s what the AmuSphere he was wearing was telling him. In reality, he was lying on his bed in his room, content and comfy on top of it. In game, though, he was miserable. His feet ached, his clothes were perpetually heavy and sticky, his stomach was throwing an absolute fit, and he’d been spelunking this one random cave for so long that he’d moved on from cursing whatever developer thought it was cute to make exploring it a whole day affair to just cursing the entire development team.  
  
Keigo started moving again, forcing his protesting feet forward as the sound of his boots falling against the rocky floor echoed all around the cavernous walls. Ultimately, he figured, he was too far in now to turn back. He had to press on in the hopes that there’d be some quick way out at the end, otherwise he’d eventually log out and never return, knowing that he’d just have to deal with the same slick, slightly mossy walls for hours before he could actually play again.  
  
As much as he was pushing on out of necessity, though, he also wanted to see what could possibly be at the end of this gargantuan cave. With how much effort it had taken him to get this far, having cleared out swarms of bats, families of wolves, and even some wayward kobolds, there had to have been something worthwhile waiting for him.  
  
From what he could tell, though, no one else had ever found this cave. He’d found it a couple days ago while he was out in a field he’d heard was good for experience at his level. That lead wasn’t wrong. Keigo had gained several levels that day, simply following up and down the river that cut through the area. On his last pass, though, right as he came to the waterfall where, as far as the game’s map was concerned, the river started, he caught a shadow peeking through right at the edge, barely revealed by the in-game sun starting to rise. He made a note of it for later, having already pushed himself to the brink of exhaustion from his grinding.  
  
The next day, he dedicated his time to researching the cave, combing the internet for anything he could find about it or the field it was located in. To his surprise, though, there was nothing. He found plenty of tips just like the one that had first brought him there, that it was an amazing place to level up, but no one mentioned a cave at all, or even the waterfall. He even consulted information brokers in the game, people that, somehow, managed to have all kinds of interesting, useful information that even the most popular websites didn’t. None of them, however, had heard anything at all, most of them simply telling him to get lost and to stop asking weird questions. One, though, a mousy-looking girl with blonde hair and, oddly enough, whiskers, told him that if he explored it and found something good, she’d pay him top price for the information. At that point, he’d already planned on checking the cave out anyway. The money was just icing on the cake.  
  
As the clock hit 02:30, though, Keigo started to wonder if there was anything the game or that rat girl could give him that would be worth all the trouble. Just as he was starting to wonder how the cave even made sense logistically, certain that by now he must have crossed a zone border or two no matter how winding the path was, he came upon what seemed to, at long last, be the end it of it. He could hardly believe it as he left the passage and stepped out into a large chamber that contained absolutely nothing. He staggered around, straining his eyes to find anything, anything at all, that could be hiding away. His weak, stumbling steps started to become more forceful, more deliberate, as he started to feel his face burning with anger.  
  
“This is it?! Really? I’ve spent all day in this shithole cave and it just dumps me out into a room without a Goddamn thing in it?!” he yelled, his voice echoing all around him, amplifying his frustration. “Dammit! I hate this stupid game! Why can’t anything ever just be simple? ‘Go kill 10 rats and bring me their tails.’ See? Not that hard to design a simple quest! But no, these idiots always have to go with the dumbest, most asinine shit! And then they make something that takes actual, honest effort and give you nothing for it! Christ, I don’t even know why I play this game...”  
  
Keigo felt a little bit of the irritation that had been weighing him down lift after finally getting it all out. He knew, though, what the answer to his question was. After this hours-long trek for nothing, he knew that there was no way he’d keep playing. How could anyone want to, knowing that they’d have to make the same trip again? If he’d had enough money to buy teleportation crystals freely, it wouldn’t be as big of a deal, but with the lower-level field the cave was in, how many people exploring it actually had access to those? Heck, maybe people had found the cave before, they just never spread anything about it because they all ended up quitting rather than deal with it again, taking their secret with them to try and stop other people from doing the same.  
  
He pulled his arm out in front of him and called up his menu, ready to tap on the logout button, when he felt cool air tickling the hairs on the back of his neck.  
  
“Huh? Wait, why’s there a breeze this deep in?” he asked, turning around. That’s when he saw it: a small crack in the cave wall, barely wide enough for him to get through, and even that was doubtful. He walked up to it, his eyes wide with disbelief. It went on for a long while, but he could see something at the end and could feel air that was somehow different from the rest in the cave.  
  
“Alright. Fine. I’ve come this far already. It’s gonna be a tight squeeze, though,” he said, swiping over instead to the equipment tab and taking off every piece of equipment that could possibly add it how wide he was. He pressed himself up against the fissure, trying not to think about how much colder it was, especially against the bare rock, or what would happen if the passage were to narrow halfway through. Keigo took a deep breath, sucking in his stomach as much as he could, and started sliding in.  
  
Just like he thought, it was cramped between the rock walls. Keigo was barely able to move at all, slowly moving forward, one centimeter at a time. About halfway through, he took a break, trying to catch his breath and calm his nerves. He’d never had any issues with confined spaces before, but, perhaps because of the fatigue, he was shaking all over, sweating and panting heavily. The rational part of his mind couldn’t help but admire just how well the AmuSphere worked, perfectly translating the feeling of the cold, wet rock that was all around his body and the sensation of it pressing against him so tightly that he could hardly fill his lungs with enough air to breathe, even though his actual body was perfectly comfortable. The larger, panicked part of his brain, though, just wanted the hell out, starting to shuffle once more to see what was on the other side of the crack.  
  
Keigo was ecstatic by the time he finally made his way out of the cramped little passage, pushing himself out of the fissure with one final effort, the momentum carrying him forward and onto the ground. “N-no way…” he gasped, slowly picking himself up and looking all around him.  
  
The view that greeted him left him absolutely speechless The fissure had led to a massive chamber, easily the biggest in the whole cave, with walls that stretched up so tall that Keigo couldn’t see the ceiling and that wrapped so far around that it was easily bigger than some of the game’s starting zones. Most remarkable, though, was that the walls weren’t the same bluish-gray damp stone he’d left behind. Instead, the walls were coated in thick sheets of gems, all of them luminous and brilliantly white. Their brilliant sheen was only tarnished by how reflective they were, tossing the image of hundred of undressed Keigos all around him.  
  
He hastily pulled up his menu again, tapping away until he was equipped once more, than started to explore the room, taking care to not slip on the slick gems at his feet. “This is absolutely incredible…” he said, he voice bouncing around as much as his reflection. “If I could take even a small piece of this with me, I’d be set for life! God, it’d almost be a shame, though, wouldn’t it? I mean...I get it, it’s all just a bunch of ‘0s’ and ‘1s,’ but chipping away at these walls...and it’s this game, so it would definitely stay damaged. Hrm,” he said, screwing up his face as he weighed the odd, conservation side of him that had suddenly sprouted up, “maybe...maybe that’ll be a last resort. This place is huge, there might be something else I can take without wrecking the area…” he concluded, running his hand along the impossibly smooth gem in front of him.  
  
Keigo set out to explore the rest of the room, trying best he could to keep his bearings and not get lost in the sea of himself that was all around him. After a good twenty minutes, his search had found nothing of interest, just the same extravagant gems he’d seen since he’d entered. Then, right near the back of the room, he found something different, something that broke up the constant reflection of himself: a nest.  
  
He walked up to it carefully, his hand on the hilt of his sword just in case walking near it triggered a monster to spawn. Nothing came as he walked closer and close, his shoulders tensing up as he got right up next to it. The nest was fairly large, big enough that he could rest in it if he, for whatever reason, wanted to, though he’d have to content with it other occupant if he did. Right in the center of it sat a sizable egg, so big that Keigo’d need both of his hands to lift it, it’s shell covered with vivid, blue speckles. Keigo took a deep breath as he stepped into the nest, still ready for a fight. The egg practically came up to his knees. He reached down to touch it, the hairs on the back of his neck tingling as he waited for some sign that the egg’s mother had come.  
  
Nothing happened, though. He touched the egg, feeling it’s rough, almost scaly shell, and the slight hint of warmth from inside. “This...this has to be a dragon egg, right? Or, at the very least, it’s something big like that,” he said, finally letting go of his weapon and walking around the egg. “I don’t really get it...how a dragon would get in here or even find the stuff to make a nest…? But...this would definitely be something to show that rat woman. Yeah...a chip off the cave wall, this large egg...she’d pay a fortune for it, and that’s not counting what I’d get for selling the goods. I’m sure some jeweler would fork out a lot for the gem, and the egg...well, I guess either a beast tamer or maybe even a chef could find something to do with it. No way to get it outta here without using a teleport crystal, though, so it’s a good thing I’ve still got that one they throw at newbies for free. I didn’t want to waste it before, but now...hah, yeah...maybe this hellhole actually was worth it,” he said, smirking to himself.  
  
He kneeled down, pulling out a small knife and chipping into the floor until a thick wedge of the gemstone floor came out, then pocketed it. “Shouldn’t be too noticeable if it’s from here, at least,” he commented, before lifting up the egg. He tried to balance it on his knees while he pulled up his menu. Just as he tapped on the item button, he felt something zoom past his ear, the shock of it causing him to drop the egg, which tumbled onto its side in the nest.  
  
“Wh-what the hell?!” he cried out, his hand going for his sword before he saw the reason for his surprise staring him square in the face. Flapping in front of him was a small dragon, covered in bright blue feathers with two long tails trailing below it, its red eyes fixed on Keigo.  
  
“Eheh,” he chuckled, letting go of his weapon, “Jeez, you gave me a scare, little fella.”  
  
The dragon let out a small, angry chirp, before darting past his head again.  
  
“Haha, you’ve sure got spirit, I’ll give you that. But there’s no way I’m leaving this place empty handed. I’d like to do this without a fight,” he added, noticing that the dragon still didn’t have a nameplate, or any indication that it was a hostile monster.  
  
It simply responded by glaring at him, as though it was challenging him to try and push his luck.  
  
“...Okay, good,” Keigo said, taking the creature’s silence as compliance. He bent down again, gently scooping up the egg, only to feel the dragon slam into his shoulder, sending him toppling backwards and out of the nest, the egg wrapped firmly in his arms.  
  
“Dammit!” Keigo swore, trying to collect himself up off the floor. The dragon chirped back, its cry deeper and angrier than it had been before. “Fine, then. If you want to do this the hard way, I’m game,” he said, starting to unsheathe his sword. He stayed crouched, the egg held firmly against his chest, ready to strike.  
  
The dragon made the first move, Keigo smirking as he went to lunge at it, but the dragon was too quick, effortlessly rolling out of the way of his slash and nibbling firmly on his ear. Keigo fumbled his sword, punching at the dragon just as it tugged firmly on his ear and flew back away.  
  
Keigo let out a grunt of pain as his finger went up to his ear, feeling the firm indentation of the dragon’s sharp teeth. He pulled them away, seeing that there wasn’t a trace of blood on them. “Really?! That’s it?! All that and you can’t even break the skIN?!” he asked, his voice suddenly cracked into a high warble right at the end, the shock of it causing him to drop the egg he was still clutching.  
  
He coughed a little, hoping to clear whatever had lodged itself in his throat, leaving it feeling constricted and tingly. Each subsequent cough came out lighter than the last, until, finally, the sensation subsided and Keigo’s throat began to relax. “Look, it’s been a hell of a day, can’t you just leave me alone?” he asked, his eyes going wide as he heard the words he wanted to say come out of a voice very different from his own. Instead of the exhausted, pleading tone he’d wanted, the words had come out shaky and timid. His voice had shifted up in pitch significantly, sounding softer, almost on the verge of tears, and it sounded far younger, like the voice of someone just barely out of childhood. The dragon in front of him happily squawked back, as though it was laughing.  
  
“Y-you think this is funny, you little punk?!” Keigo yelled out, finding that even he couldn’t really take his anger seriously anymore when it came out in a voice that youthful and girly. Still, even if his voice had changed, he could still show his frustration in other ways. He went to lunge at the dragon once again, pulling himself low to the ground as he ran, ready to deliver an uppercut right to it’s smug little beak. His steps started to feel oddly uncertain as he started to clear the distance, but he simply dismissed it as the odd texture of the gems at his feet, until, right as he was about to spring up and strike the dragon, he lost his footing. His feet seemed to catch on the inside of his pants, sending him toppling to the ground, practically doing somersaults until he hit the wall in front of him, his back striking against it hard enough to force whatever air was left out of his lungs.  
  
Keigo groaned as he tried to recover from the sudden impact, taking a moment to properly assess which end of him was up and which was down anymore after all of the spinning. Once he finally felt he had a proper handle on things, he went to push himself up off the ground, a curious look spreading across his face as, instead of the cool floor he expected to feel, he felt his sleeves underneath his hands. He nearly tripped again getting back up, his feet still catching on his pants, and, as he finally stood up and brought himself to look at his reflection in the gems in front of him, he saw why. His clothes were now hanging loosely on his frame, his sleeves entirely swallowing up his arms while his feet seemed to be about halfway up the legs of his pants. Everything else seemed to have shrunk down proportionally as well, or at least that was the best Keigo could figure as he turned around behind him to see his boots and gloves strewn about, no doubt jostled loose when he was rolling. “N-no way...wh-what the hell’s going on?” he asked, looking at the dragon who had now settled down onto the floor and was slowly pushing the egg back to the nest. It chirped at him, lifting up its beak and arching its head toward the wall.  
  
Reluctantly, Keigo complied with the little dragon’s suggestion, turning himself back towards the wall. “I...I don’t get it… What I’m supposed to-” Keigo’s question was interrupted by a sudden tightness spreading all over his face, causing his features to scrunch up for a second while his eyes watered and his sinuses tingled. He blinked away the tears welling up just in time to see his face begin to change. His features softened bit by bit, first with his cheekbones rising up higher as his cheeks filled out until they were smooth and round, and then with his chin shrinking down and becoming less pronounced, both changes giving a gentle curve to his face and giving it a far kinder look than it had before. His lips felt fat and numb as they plumped up slightly, pressing gently against each other, and a delicate, alluring pink painted itself on his lips, taking the strange sensation away with it. He could hardly keep his eyes opened as his nose shrunk down, the tightness he felt in his face starting to center right on it as pushed in, its slope smoothing to a slight, gentle angle, while the tip turned up ever so slightly. It wasn’t long before he was hit by an opposite sensation, his eyes going wide as they grew, becoming more expressive as they did, his eyebrows trimming themselves into long, thin arches while his irises, once a murky green, started to fill with a vivid, ruby red hue. The bite, if it could be called that, on his ear stung a bit more for a second as his ears grew just a bit longer, with his lower lobes sticking out a little more.  
  
“Th-this face… W-wait, no way, h-how could…” He stopped stammering out his questions, noticing that his hair was lightening. The deep, midnight black he’d chosen back at character creation began to change, his eyebrows shifting first to a light honey brown before it seemed to travel up, coating his spiky bangs and spreading to his crown, where the color spilled back down, entirely coating every last inch of black. A pleasant, almost ticklish tingle covered his scalp as his hair started growing out. His bangs dipped down, a large section in the middle settling gently by the bottom of his nose, while those on the side curved out, traveling down to his mouth before curling inwards slightly. A shiver went through his body as the soft, silky hair tickled at his ears. It continued lengthening, brushing gently against the back of his neck as it went, until it finally fell down to his shoulder blades, fluffing out to look thicker before it finally stopped.  
  
“Th-there’s so much…” he gasped, reaching up to grab at his bangs. He felt the hair between his fingers, shocked to feel just how different it was from the hair he’d had, or even the hair he had in real life. He started to lose himself in the feeling of it until the little dragon chirped again. Keigo wheeled around, his bangs falling down to his nose and filling them with an almost dizzyingly pleasant floral scent, to see the creature curling up to lie down in the nest next to the egg.  
  
“Y-you! Th-this is all your-” His accusation was cut short by a system menu popping up right in front of his face, the usual calm, muted grays of the UI replaced with alarming black and red. A harsh little siren accompanied the warning, which simply read:  
  
CHARACTER ERROR DETECTED:  
EQUIPMENT INCOMPATIBLE WITH PLAYER GENDER.  
  
“Wh-what…” Keigo didn’t even get a chance to question the warning before it flashed away, the gear he was wearing exploding into hundreds of brightly colored, iridescent polygons as everything he had on, save for his sword, was unequipped. “N-no way! What?!” he shouted out, annoying himself with how adorably flustered his voice sounded. He looked down at himself, a bright blush spreading through his cheeks once he realized that, somehow, the game had left him completely naked, without even the basic underwear player models had when they weren’t equipped.  
  
“‘I-incompatible with player gender?’ Wh-what’s that supposed to mean? I’m… I-I mean, of course I’m…” Kiego’s throat started to feel dry as he tried to finish the sentence. He knew what he’d wanted to say, that, of course, his character had always been a man, just like he was in real life. Looking at the gentle youthful face reflected all around him, with soft, smooth hair and a voice that was timid and cute, though, it seemed obvious that something had changed, all because of that little dragon. He took a deep breath, grappling with the conflicting feelings bouncing around in his head. “It...it’s not like this changes me or anything… I mean, the real me. My...my avatar’s becoming a w-woman, b-but the me that’s still in bed… Th-that’s still me, right? B-besides, if it was anything bad, the AmuSphere would have disconnected me...”  
  
The dragon simply let out a drowsy chirp as a tightness started to wrap its way around Keigo’s upper body. It was gentle at first, just a barely perceptible presence, but the pressure soon began to build, shaping Keigo’s body as it did. Her neck slimmed down first, becoming soft and smooth, her Adam’s apple completely disappearing as though it had never been there at all. The pressure around her shoulders amped up, squeezing tighter and tighter, until her already small frame reduced significantly into one that was undeniably petite, her small, lithe shoulders so slight and delicate that they only made her neck look more slender. It traveled down her arms next, wrapping them tightly as they shrunk down ever so slightly and the thick hair coating them disappeared, her muscle thinning out until it was obvious that there was no way she’d be able to fight with the sword on her hip any more. The joints in her hands cracked and her knuckles popped as her hands shrunk down, becoming so tiny and gentle, while her fingers grew slightly longer, more delicate and refined. Even her fingernails changed, growing out from the stubby little messes to elegant, well-tended arcs that poked out ever so slightly from her fingertips, their sheen seeming to brighten as they did.  
  
Keigo found it hard to think as the changes continued to spread, getting so caught up in how much faster they seemed to be going. She looked down to see her chest practically melting away, the ridiculously firm pecs she’d given her avatar pushing in flat against her body, leaving skin that looked amazingly soft and supple, the darker, sun-beaten tone she’d chosen shifting to a delicate, milky peach that suddenly swept through her whole body, painting her from head to toe in skin that was vibrant, youthful, and a far cry from the battle hardened look she went for, all while taking away every last trace of body hair. Then her dark, blotchy areolae shrank down until they were cute little circles, taking on a soft, rosy pink color as they puffed up slightly, her nipples stiffening to attention. She let out a soft gasp, her chest feeling especially tight and tender for a moment while a little bit of gentle weight filled in, pushing her nipples out slightly as she developed a pair of small, perky breasts.  
  
“N-no way…” she breathed, bringing her slender fingers up to cup her petite chest. She shivered a little as she felt her fingers press against them, her eyes growing wide and a blush settling into her cheeks as she realized just how sensitive her breasts were. “Th-this is t-too much… Th-there’s got to be some way to stop this, right?” she asked, turning to the tiny, dozing dragon who was too busy dreaming to pay her any mind. “M-maybe if I logout, then I can just come back when th-this is all done…” she murmured, pulling up the menu and tapping on the button. Instead of disconnecting her, though, a calm, gray system window popped up.  
  
AVATAR ALTERATION IN PROGRESS  
PLEASE WAIT UNTIL PROCESS IS COMPLETED  
  
“Eh-eheh...I...I guess that’s that, huh?” she said, swiping the window away and walking up to the wall. “W-well… If...if this is going to happen, then...it’s probably better to watch…” she mumbled, a slight blush on her face betraying her words, just before she felt something wrap around her waist, spreading its way across her stomach. She kept her eyes glued to her reflection, watching as her six pack faded to a soft, smooth tummy, filling with just enough weight to give it a gentle, round shape. Some air was pushed out of Keigo as her waist squeezed inwards, pinching in a little at the sides. There was then a pop as her hips pushed outwards, spreading until they were like a flower mid-bloom, giving her the slightest hint of an hourglass figure as a bit more weight started to settle into them.  
  
“Kyah!” Keigo let out a shrill, shocked little yelp as she felt her butt tense up, a tingling sensation spreading over it as her cheeks pulled up tight. They, too, filled with a delicate, feminine weight, adding more roundness to her hips as her cheeks settled into a full, firm peach. More weight flowed down into her legs, replacing most of the muscle in them and filling out her thighs more to match the curve of her butt until they were soft, cushy, and alluring. The muscle fading from her calves left them smooth and soft enough on their own, but her feet underwent more drastic changes, all kinds of little pops and cracks echoing around the cave as her feet shrank down considerably, matching the rest of her cute, petite frame. They got a little softer, while her toes got just a bit longer, her toenails reshaping into easily manageable, cute arches.  
  
“I-is that all… N-no...there’s still…” Keigo’s face suddenly flushed bright red as she realized what left of her still hadn’t changed. She nervously looked down, her gaze quickly jerking back up once she saw what used to be a familiar, everyday sight for her. Something about it, though, made her worry and fret, and she wished more than anything that she’d had some sort of underwear on, anything at all to cover her nakedness. She started to feel a tingle spread through her crotch, causing her to look away from herself best she could, though everywhere she looked she could just see herself, her only respite being to cover her face with her hands. Still, though, her curiosity began to get the better of her as she desperately tried to figure out what was happening.  
  
She felt something warm and pleasant almost flowing up inside of her, filling up her belly and causing her flush to deepen. Keigo peeked, just for a moment, certain that her crotch now looked a bit smaller, softer, and maybe even...pinker? It started to feel like she floating, or maybe just swimming, as something started to tighten down there, the feeling shocking at first until she came to find something enjoyable about the feeling, something she couldn’t quite place. When she peaked again, there was hardly any trace of her old crotch left, the sight of soft, smooth skin and something wet and pink causing her quickly cover her eyes once more. A shiver coursed through her body, and then another, before the warmth inside of her stomach faded, the tingle she’d felt vanishing with it.  
  
Keigo looked once more when it was all done, and saw something completely different: a small, tight slit nestled between her smooth thighs, the slightest hint of rosy pink sneaking out from under the milky peach skin that surrounded it. She couldn’t help but blush, pulling her legs in to hide it more as she struggled to compose herself enough to remove the hands from her face. “Th-that’s gotta be all, right?” she said, pulling up her menu once again. She cast a gaze back at the small dragon, still sleeping all snug in its nest. If it had any answers, it sure wasn’t going to give them to her. “I-it’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay,” she reassured herself, tapping on the logout button as the cave in front of her faded away, liquidy globules of color flying out until everything faded to white, and then black as the AmuSphere turned off.  
  
Their senses returned to them slowly. There was a comfy, homey smell to their room, the scents of freshly laundered clothing mixing with the aroma of something rich and hearty being cooked. They could feel soft, silky clothing lying against their body, and warm, fluffy covers on top of them. Outside, birds were chirping away happily, their chorus only interrupted by a sudden, though gentle, rapping at the door, followed by a kind, caring voice calling out “Keiko, dinner’s ready!” before light footsteps padded off, then faded away.  
  
They sat up in bed before realizing that their vision was still black and that the AmuSphere was still on their head. Reaching up, they pulled it off. The bright lights overhead were so blinding that they had to squint, and they could feel the air around them shifting as long strands of soft hair beat against their back, the bangs that rested in the middle of their face being the only thing they could see until their eyes finally adjusted. When they finally did, they were greeted to a sight that was definitely unlike anything else they had ever seen before.  
  
Instead of the spartan room they’d been in before logging in to Sword Art: Origin, the room they were in now was decorated almost to excess, practically every inch of every wall covered with something. While the walls themselves were a soothing, off-white color, the bed they were on was covered in pink sheets, with a whole lineup of stuffed animals resting on the edge against the wall. Bulletin boards were the most common fixture, each one overflowing with pinned pictures of young women smiling and having fun. They turned to look at the one right right above their bed, apparently still being filled as there were still some faint traces of cork underneath the pictures, and saw a face that looked very, very familiar, once they looked past the fluffy twintails.  
  
They quickly got out of bed, looking around the room for the slightest trace of anything the recognized. The distressing part was that some part of them did recognize everything in the room, though. There was a feeling deep inside their heart that what they were looking at was home, that it was where they belonged, even though part of their head said otherwise. They made their way over to an ornate mirror sitting on a nearby dresser, seeing the same face they’d seen in cave in the game reflected back at them, wearing a pair of fuzzy pink pajamas. The only difference was the eyes, now a deep hazel instead of a vivid ruby. They looked over to a different bulletin board, then back to the mirror, taking a deep breath before they raised their hands up to their head and started to gather their hair up, mimicking the twintails of the girl in all the pictures, their reflection a perfect match.  
  
“Th-there’s no way… H-how did I end up here… A-and who are all those people with...with me…” she muttered, her voice small and nervous as she let go of her hair, the strands dropping down gently against her face. She tensed up as she heard footsteps outside of her door, right before the same warm voice called out, “Keiko, honey, don’t you want dinner?” her question laced with concern. “I-I’m okay, mom!” she started to respond, her relationship to the voice suddenly popping into her head out of nowhere, “I’m n-not too hungry, b-but maybe I’ll get s-something later.” There was silence for a couple of heavy seconds, her heart racing as she worried she’d said something wrong. Finally, it was broken. “Okay, honey. But if you’re feeling sick, you really should eat. You won’t get better if you don’t keep up your strength.” She let out a huge sigh of relief before answering, “I’m fine, mom! Honest!” After that, the footsteps walked away, leaving her to herself.  
  
“K-Keiko… That’s pretty close to my character’s name…” she mused as the adrenaline began to fade, suddenly recalling what had set all of this off, where it all began. “Th-that’s right, m-maybe there’s something I can do in the game to...to go back…” she said, a slight pang of guilt welling up inside of her as she remembered how kind and caring her mother’s voice was. “M-maybe I’ll just check real quick and then get something to e-eat…” she murmured, climbing back into bed and slipping the AmuSphere over her head. She laid down, taking a moment to get comfortable, fussing with her to make sure it was straight and tangling and snarling underneath her, before whispering “Link start.” The display in front of her face flashed on as the system booted up.  
  
As always, the white screen led to squishy cylinders of color flying up towards her, followed by a screen checking that each of her senses was syncing up with the FullDive technology. What she’d expected to happen next, however, didn’t. Instead of simply logging in to Sword Art: Origin and being in the expansive, crystalline chamber she’d logged out in, she found herself in a vast, black expanse, checkered with intersecting lines of neon blue, almost like a placeholder area.  
  
“H-huh? Th-that’s weird, wh-what happened to the cave? A-and that little dragon…” Keiko stammered, looking around nervously. She was so preoccupied that she completely missed the woman barreling towards until she was wrapping her arms around her waist, pulling her up and squeezing her face into her soft, pillowy chest as she gave her the biggest hug Keiko had ever felt. She tried to let out any kind of protest, but all of her words were muffled between the other woman’s chest, her attempts at talking only making it harder for her to breath as she was squeezed tighter and tighter. All she could see was the creamy cleavage she buried in, and two little moles on the woman’s left breast, her nose filled with a gentle soapy smell and the slightest hint of sweat. Just as she thought she was going to pass out, wondering what that would even mean for her real body, the woman let her go, gently placing her back on the ground.  
  
“Hehe, there! Doesn’t that feel much better?” the woman asked in a voice that was light and airy, sounding very satisfied with herself. Keiko looked up at her as she tried to catch her breath. The woman was certainly well endowed, though she was more than familiar with that aspect by now. Outside of that, though, she was far taller than she was, and with a far broader frame. She was wearing what looked like a dark purple strapless dress, or at least as close as equipment in this game got to that, with a lighter purple coat over it. On her legs were a pair of long, thigh-high stockings, and she wore heeled boots that likely added to her height. Her face was warm and gentle, with wavy lavender hair that stopped just above her shoulders and red eyes that were sparkling with joy.  
  
“Wh-who are you?” Keiko finally managed to ask.  
  
“Me? Well, I’m Strea! I’m here to help make you feel better!” the woman answered, grinning widely.  
  
“Wh-what do you mean? Where a-are we?”  
  
“Oh, gosh, I forgot how full of questions people can be! Let’s see… Right, start at the top! Well...oh, hmm, I guess this is tricky… Try not to get frightened, okay?” Strea requested, her face painted with an almost motherly concern.  
  
“S-sure,” Keiko responded. She wasn’t sure she could keep that promise, but she was too anxious to know what was going on to say so.  
  
“Well, I’m not a person like you or any of the other people playing Sword Art: Origin. I’m actually an AI! MHCP002, Strea! I’m a mental health counseling program that shows up when someone gets too stressed or if the AmuSphere detects some kind of abnormality in its user’s regular brain activity. It’s a fancy way of saying that I’m a therapist, I guess!” Strea finished, with a satisfied little nod.  
  
“As for where we are, I pulled us into a kind of waiting room. You’re kinda in the game, kinda not. This is a private, isolated space where we can talk freely and work out whatever emotional distress you’re in!”  
  
“O-okay…” Keiko said. Strea’s story checked from what she could tell. With all that had happened, it’s no wonder one of the AmuSphere’s safety systems triggered. She had no idea why it didn’t kick in when she was changing, but, still, this was something. Maybe this woman could explain what had happened, or maybe even get her old character, her old body back.  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by a long, drawn out gasp from Strea. Keiko turned her attention back on the woman.  
  
“Gosh, I don’t think I’ve ever ended up with a patient as cute as you! You’re sooo adorable!”  
  
Keiko’s face suddenly turned bright red, a blush burning up in her cheeks, not just because this older woman had called her cute, but because she suddenly realized that, when she’d logged out, her character was completely naked, lacking even the most basic underwear that all avatars had. In a panic, she brought a hand in front of her crotch and wrapped an arm around her chest, trying to cover up best she could. When she looked down at her body, though, she was surprised to see that she wasn’t naked anymore. She still wasn’t equipped, not by any means, but she at least had underwear. They were simple, just a while training bra and panties, lined with a soft pink hem and each adorned with a pink ribbon, but she felt amazingly relieved to see any clothing on her body. She was, however, still far too embarrassed in front of the curvy woman who had been looking her over to move her hands.  
  
“Haha, right! Maybe we should get you something a bit more proper to wear…” Strea said, trailing off, deep in thought, before her head snapped back to attention. “Oh! Right! I completely forgot! I didn’t even ask what your name is!”  
  
“O-oh… Uhm, it’s…” Keiko blanked, finding herself at a loss for just what her character name was.  
  
“Oooh, can’t remember? Well, that’s okay! If you don’t know are aren’t comfortable with your real name, you can always open the menu and use your avatar’s name!”  
  
Keiko nodded in response, opening up the menu and tabbing over to the status display. “I’m...I’m Silica. I-in real life, I’m Keiko...Keiko Ayano… B-but I haven’t always been!” she cried out, before launching into a long, almost breathless explanation of everything that had happened. She didn’t leave a single detail out, telling the mental health counseling program about how she first found the cave, how long it took her to explore it, about the beautiful chamber at the end and the small dragon, and about the changes and the room and life she’d woken up to. Strea stood there the whole time, not interrupting at all, until Keiko was finally done.  
  
At the end of it all, Strea let out a long, melodic whistle. “Wow, it sounds like that little dragon really did a number on you!”  
  
“H-have you ever heard of this happening before?” Keiko asked hopefully, spurred on by Strea’s upbeat tone.  
  
“Oh, goodness no! To be honest, I don’t even know of a way for players to change their avatar, let alone a creature that can do it,” she chirped back, happily.  
  
“Th-then...then you d-don’t believe me…” Keiko’s shoulders slumped and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes.  
  
“Mmm...uh-uh, I do!” Strea said, smiling sweetly. “You wouldn’t end up here for nothing, after all, and I think something as big as all of that would definitely cause enough stress for the AmuSphere to pick up on it. But, gosh, it’s a lot to take in! Changing in game would be one thing, but something happening to you in real life… The AmuSphere shouldn’t-”  
  
“It did! Honest!” Keiko interjected, balling her tiny hands up into fists and holding them up to her chest as she did her best not to cry.  
  
“I know,” Strea replied, her voice overflowing with warmth as she walked up to the girl, reached her arm around her back, and pulled in close for a gentle hug, her other hand working its way through her hair. “I believe you, honest. It’s a mystery how it happened, but we’ll get through this together and find out what’s going on, I promise. But, first, let’s get you into some clothes, okay?” she asked, sounding almost like a mother comforting her child.  
  
All Keiko could do was nod, feeling a bit sad as Strea stopped stroking her hair and pulled away. She reached her hand out and pulled up some menu unlike one Keiko had ever seen, and, before she could ask what she was doing, Keiko’s body was covered in a bright, prismatic light. It was always weird, feeling clothing just appear on your body as opposed to putting them on in real life, but Keiko felt especially odd as she experienced it in her new body for the first time. The sensation didn’t last long, hardly even a second, with the glow around her fading as soon as the system was done equipping her. She looked down at her body to see that it was now fully clothed, much to her delight. It was a little hard for her to make out what everything was, but it seemed like her bra had changed to one that was black and wrapped around her neck instead of her shoulders, with dark yellow lines running up near the edges. It was mostly covered, though, by a long, red coat hemmed in yellow that went down to her ankles, with a large opening in the front for a shiny, silver breastplate. Her hands were covered in red, fingerless gloves, and she could feel the weight of what had to have been a dagger resting against her back. With some shuffling around, she was able to see a black pleated skirt underneath it and similarly colored thigh highs that melded almost seamlessly into a pair of black pair of Mary Janes.  
  
“Hmm,” Strea said, walking over to her. “Even if your hair isn’t very long, it would probably get in the way, huh? Especially if you’re not used to it…” she mused, suddenly grabbing at her hair, the smaller girl too embarrassed by her boldness to protest. Strea gathered it up on one side then tapped away at a menu with her other hand. When she was done, she pulled her hands away and Keiko didn’t feel the hair falling back into place. She repeated the same steps with the other side, pulling back slightly with a puzzled look on her face.  
  
“It’s cute, but it’s not quite… Ah! I know! Hehe, this is gonna be great!” She chuckled to herself as she swiped through more menus, Keiko’s head somehow feeling a bit heavier when she was finished. “There, that’s perfect! Hehe, go ahead, take a look!” she said, materializing a compact, an item Keiko didn’t even know was in the game, and flipping it open in front of her.  
  
Keiko’s eyes went wide as she saw her reflection, seeing that Strea had tied her hair up into twintails. It wasn’t quite like the pictures that were posted all over her room, her hair seeming to stick out to the sides more here than it did in real life, but she was amazed to see Strea choose that exact style. She’d tied it up with thick red ribbons that dangled down to her shoulders, and around them were bright red rings, which were certainly the weight she’d just felt.  
  
“Cute, huh?” Strea asked, beaming.  
  
“Y-yeah!” Keiko responded, feeling strangely happier and more at peace.  
  
“Alright, then! What’s next… Mmm, right, we should probably look into that area you were in, yeah? Let’s see, we should be able to get right there if we just...and then...override this...there!” Strea cried out after swiping through a series of menus, just before the expanse around them disappeared, only to replaced by the same chamber Keiko’d been in before she logged out.  
  
“Oh wow! It’s so pretty here! Jeez, Keiko, you didn’t make it sound even half as lovely as all this!” Strea yelled, her airy voice echoing around the sparkling gemstones. She wasted no time going over to one and looking at her reflection, making all kinds of silly faces to herself. “Oh!” she cried, pulling herself away from her fun and looking around the room, her hand held up to her forehead as she swiveled and turned. “Wonder if that dragon you mentioned is here…”  
  
Keiko swallowed hard, knowing the answer to Strea’s question. She carefully lifted up her arm, pointing over at where the nest was, the egg still sitting neatly inside of it. From where she was, Keiko couldn’t see if the dragon was there or not.  
  
“Ah, over there, huh? Come on, let’s check it out!” Strea called out, grabbing on to Keiko’s arm and pulling her along. “Haha, careful! It’s a little slippery here, huh?” she called back, flashing the smaller girl a wide smile that helped ease her nerves, if only a little.  
  
Once they were both up near the nest, the could see the feathered dragon still curled up next the the egg. It let out a big yawn, its beak stretching wide open, then tilted its head up to look at them.  
  
“Gosh, what a cutie!” Strea cooed, bending over to look at the creature. The dragon, however, had its eyes locked on Keiko.  
  
It let out a soft chirp before flapping up out of the nest, then quickly flew at Keiko, who froze, tensing up and closing her eyes. She felt it’s claws on her shoulder, the feathers of its tail tickling the back of her neck, and then a small little peck on her cheek.  
  
“Hahaha, wow, looks like it likes you!” Strea chuckled, causing Keiko to nervously open her eyes. She looked over and saw the dragon looking at her. It tilted its head at her questioningly, then let out another quiet chirp before leaning forward and tapping its beak against her cheek again.  
  
“Ah-ahaha...th-that kinda tickles…” she giggled. A smile spread on the little dragon’s face.  
  
“Aw, no fair, I wanted some love too!” Strea pouted, before adding in a lighthearted chuckle. She bent over, the little dragon already lifting its head into the petting she was planning to give. “So, this is the feathered little dragon?” she asked, turning to Keiko while she continued to scratch at its ears.  
  
“Y-yeah…” she answered, blushing as she stroked at the dragon’s back.  
  
“Hmm...I don’t know what happened, but its such a sweetie now!” Strea said, moving her hand down to rub under the dragon’s head.  
  
“I...I don’t know either… It lunged at me before, b-but now,” Keiko explained, the dragon shifting on her shoulder so she could pet its stomach, “i-it’s kinda cute…”  
  
“Hehe, you could probably use this little fella as a pet! It might be pretty fun, being a beast tamer,” Strea suggested. The little dragon looked up at Keiko, staring at her for a moment, before letting out a happy, contented chirp.  
  
“I...I think that we’d b-both like that,” Keiko said with a smile.  
  
“Perfect! Well, I guess it’s time for all of us to get out of here, huh? It’ll be a shame though, it’s sooo beautiful! I’ll have to remember this place for later! Anyway, you’ve still got that teleportation crystal, right?”  
  
Keiko opened up her menu, swiping through some tabs. She was glad to see that she still had the same inventory she had before she’d changed. “Y-yeah. B-but wait, y-you’re coming with us? D-don’t you have other people to help?”  
  
“Hmm,” Strea said, looking off at nothing in particular. “Nah, not too many! There used to be a lot, back when Sword Art Online was still running, but now it’s not too bad. Most people log on to relieve stress, and any they do feel is nowhere near what it used to be in there! Besides, I made a promise to you, Keiko! I said I’d help you find out what happened, and that’s what I’m going to do! So, let’s go! Maybe we can find some information in town!” she said, smilingly broadly as the little dragon chirped happily.  
  
Keiko smiled back, happy little tears running down her cheeks, before the two of them teleported out and back into town.  
  
Strea worked hard to keep her promise, the two woman immediately seeking out every information broker they could find about the cave, the feathered dragon, or even any way to change a player’s avatar. After weeks of searching and investigating every lead they had, no matter how small, they still had no clue how any it had happened. They did, of course, have plenty of offers from brokers, the Rat especially, for any information they did find, but neither of them felt comfortable spreading what Keiko had gone through, worried that would become some sort of urban legend. As the weeks turned to months, though, they started to mind less and less that they weren’t turning up any information. At some point they’d even started questing and leveling together, the two of them growing closer as they found themselves simply enjoying the game.  
  
Keiko was nervous at first about adjusting to her life in the real world, but, with plenty of support and reassurance from Strea, she’d found herself adapting well to the changes. School was a little boring, the coursework covering material she had learned years ago, but she’d found the friendship of all the girls in the pictures hanging in her room made it more than worthwhile, filling her days with fun and laughter. Things at home were good, too, with parents that really cared and took an interest in what their daughter was doing. Her mom in particular enjoyed hearing what she was doing, encouraging her to go one about anything at all and smiling warmly as Keiko told her about school, her friends, or what she was going to do online that night. She seemed especially interested in hearing about the friend that her daughter always talked about, though, every time she brought up the game she was playing, going so far as to tease her, asking when she’d get to meet her. This always left Keiko so embarrassed that she felt like she’d explode. Though it also brought with it a touch of melancholy, dismissing her mom’s joke by saying that someday she’d meet her, and knowing that there was no way that was possible.  
  
The day after a particularly teasing talk with her mom, Keiko logged in to meet up with Strea for lunch at a cozy little café in town. She was nervous as she sat the table, waiting for Strea to arrive. To try and calm herself down, she’d already ordered a parfait, hoping that, at the very least, eating it would keep her distracted.  
  
Right as she went in for her first bite, though, the strawberry perched on top of the parfait was snatched away by a blue beak.  
  
“P-Pina, hey!” Keiko scolded. The little dragon, who she’d decided to name after her family’s cat, responded by throwing the fruit up into the air and swallowing it whole. “C-come on, that was mine! Besides, you know you have your own spoon...” she said, putting on an exaggerated pout as shoved the spoon into her mouth.  
  
“Oooh, wow, someone couldn’t wait, huh? Or maybe it’s both of you that couldn’t, ehehe!” Strea giggled from behind Keiko, walking forward and sitting down across from her. “That does look good, though,” she said, a mischievous smile lighting her face as she reached for the other spoon and helped herself to a large bite. Silica blushed redder than the strawberry Pina had devoured, while the dragon chirped angrily at Strea, upset that she’d taken its spoon.  
  
“So,” Strea started, going in for another bite, “what was it you wanted to talk about?”  
  
“W-well… M-my mom’s been joking a lot lately about m-meeting you, a-and it’s got me thinking… I...I know that there’s no way you can leave here, a-and we don’t even know how I’m...well, me-”  
  
“Oh, yeah, that’s right!” Strea interrupted.  
  
“H-huh?”  
  
  
“Ahaha, sorry,” Strea said, a rare blush painting her cheeks. “We’ve been having so much fun these past couple of months, I guess I kinda...forgot about why I said I’d stick around, ehehe…” she explained, an apologetic look on her face.  
  
Keiko couldn’t help but laugh. “A-anyway, I...I know it’s kinda silly, but I was thinking that...maybe I could get a screenshot of the two of us together to show her… A-and if I do, I’d...I’d like it if you were w-wearing th-this,” she stammered out, quickly throwing up her hands and swiping through menus until a jewelry box fell down onto the table, tipping over on its side.  
  
“K-Keiko…” Strea muttered, picking up the jewelry box carefully, like she was afraid to break it. Keiko’s heart beat even faster, watching Strea act so uncharacteristically serious. She opened the box, her eyes growing wide and her mouth dropping. “It’s...it’s so beautiful!” she cried out, pulling out the ring inside and looking at it in the sunlight. The large white stone on top of the gold band shimmered and sparkled, reflecting the café around it. “Oh my gosh, Keiko, it’s just like in the cave!” she said, slipping the ring on her finger before returning to admiring it.  
  
“Y-yeah… B-before I changed, I took a little chip out of the floor… I was going to sell it, b-but I had a jeweler make it into that instead…” she said, looking down at her hands.  
  
“It’s beautiful! I love it, Keiko!”  
  
“S-so then you’ll-”  
  
“Of course I’ll wear it! You can take as many pictures as you want! I’ll wear my biggest smile!” she exclaimed, pulling her chair over to Keiko and wrapping her arm around her shoulder in a hug, causing Pina to fly off to the other end of the table. The both of them smiled from ear to ear as Keiko took dozens of pictures, the two women eventually calling Pina back over to be in them as well. When they were finished, Strea went off to order another parfait to celebrate, and the three of them dug in, happily chipping away at it together.  
  
“So, you’re gonna show her right after this, right?” Strea asked, wiping a bit of chocolate sauce from her lips.  
  
“Y-yeah! I’m a little nervous about what she’ll say, b-but I’m sure-”  
  
“It will! It’ll be fine, Keiko! If it helps, just imagine that I’m there, right next to you! I know it’s not the real thing, but-”  
  
“No, it’s…” Keiko interrupted before trailing off. “M-maybe it’s silly, but...if Pina here did all of this...th-then I’m sure that if we put our minds to it, we can be together!” Keiko practically yelled the last part, forcing the words out, worried that she’d never say them if she didn’t. She closed her eyes afterwards, feeling the heat building in her cheeks.  
  
“Yeah. You’re right,” Strea said, her voice filled with warmth. “What happened to you is really amazing, Keiko. And meeting you has been amazing for me. I’m sure...well...I know that we can do it,” she said, Keiko opening her eyes to the most loving smile she’d ever seen on anyone, human or AI. She returned that smile, best she could.  
“Now then,” Strea said, as she finished off the last of the parfait, “why don’t you log off? I’m sure your mom’s waiting.”  
  
“Y-yeah!” Keiko replied. She pulled up her menu, and, just as she hit the logout button, she was sure she saw Strea mouth something to her just before the world flew away in blobs of colors.  
  
Her body in the real world was still smiling as she sat up in bed. As she pulled off the AmuSphere, she heard a creak in the chair next to her. She turned towards it just in time to see slender, milky white hands pulling off another AmuSphere, lavender hair falling down to her shoulders as she put the system down on the desk. Keiko couldn’t fight back the tears that started streaming down her face as Strea turned to her, saying to her in her adorable, warm voice, “I love you.”


End file.
